Rapid advances in electronics and communication technologies, driven by immense customer demand, have resulted in the widespread adoption of mobile communication devices. The extent of the proliferation of such devices is readily apparent in view of some estimates that put the number of wireless subscriber connections in use around the world at nearly 80% of the world's population. Furthermore, other estimates indicate that (as just three examples) the United States, Italy, and the UK have more mobile phones in use in each country than there are people living in those countries.
Relatively recently, cellular phone manufactures have introduced phone designs that include multiple SIM cards. Each SIM card facilitates a separate connection to the same network or different networks. As a result, the SIMs provide the owner of the phone with, for example, two different phone numbers handled by the same phone hardware. Accordingly, the multiple SIM approach alleviates, to some degree, the need to carry different physical phones. Improvements in multiple SIM communication devices will continue to make such devices attractive options for the consumer.